//------------------------------// // 65 - Seas of Knowledge // Story: Mending Light // by Kiromancer //------------------------------// Dusky’s muffled voice brought me out of my slumber as I began to feel her restlessness. Her head was pressed against the back of my neck, having cuddled up with me after we’d spent the night talking, watching the stars above Canterlot's skyline. It had been perfect, as far as I was concerned, but now her quick breathing and sudden movement was drawing me back. “Mmmm? Dusky?” She shifted again, taking some of her weight off of me. “Sorry to wake you, Night. I just had a… dream.” The first time I could remember her having nightmares had been on the trip to Fetlock, as she recovered from exhaustion. I’d gently prodded her about it afterwards, and been dismayed to learn these were an all-too common experience for her. I lifted my head to watch her carefully. “Another nightmare?” I was never one who had dreams, not that I could remember, at least, and that included nightmares. They’d always been something I felt I was missing out on, something equally interesting and terrifying, but I knew from talking to Dusky that for her, they were never pleasant experiences. My name is Night Light, a light in the dark that was supposed to keep somepony safe. I just wished there was a way I could do more to put her mind at ease. “Yeah.” Dusky’s ears dropped back, almost as if she was ashamed of it, as if I expected her to be stronger. My expression dropped at her tone. “What is it? Does it have to do with what you found out tonight?” “Yeah, it’s… it’s weird.” She sighed and lowered her voice. “The Cartel is in shambles. Their boss was blown up, along with their headquarters. Bodies confirmed and all that. And yet… I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t over. The dream was… they crashed Terra’s wedding. Subdued everyone and I didn’t even notice until it was too late. I want to believe it so badly, to say that maybe, just maybe, I’m finally safe. But, deep in my gut, I know I’m missing something. They’re missing something. Maybe it was a body double.” Still resting in bed, I unfolded my wings from my side and wrapped them around her, pulling her into a close hug. “Is there anything I can do to help?” “You don’t think I’m worrying over nothing?” She leaned into my hug, lifting her head to look me in the eyes. I met her gaze. “No, I don’t. I’m not really good with this stuff, but I trust your instincts. I’ll support you, no matter what you think.” She stared a moment before letting a smile creep onto her face. “Sweet talker.” “I mean it.” I squeezed my wings, hugging tighter. “You always help me. I want to help you, too.” “I appreciate it. I really do. It’s just, I can’t ignore it because being blindsided would be catastrophic. And yet, heeding it, how long do I need to watch our back with extra care? Without any further information, I think we’re stuck. And unless I pay a fortune, I don’t think anyone will be scrutinizing every obscure detail. Even then, there’d be no guarantee anyone could get close enough to ground zero.” “I… I’ll help. I can keep watch too.” I was already training alongside her, and although I hated to see her so worried and worked up, I certainly understood her reasoning. If I could do more, I would. “You might need to tell me what to look for, but if I can lessen the load at all, I’ll do it.” She stared at me, then started to nod. “Not everything can be taught. A lot of it is a sort of feel that needs to be adapted on the fly. The best I can do is lay some groundwork and you’ll have to figure out the rest.” “Then I guess we’ll just have to do our best for each other. Besides, you, Star, Merri, you’ve already helped me with that groundwork. She reached her head up to nuzzle my mane. “For better or for worse.” Those were wedding vows. Surely Dusky hadn’t intended it in that context, but I couldn’t help but grasp onto that thought. For all the chaos, the oddness, the adrenaline and the fear, for everything that had happened since I met her, it had all been for the better. “I wouldn’t trade our time together for the world.” She laughed quietly as she snuggled back up against me. “Sweet talker.” --- Dusky led us through the polished marble halls of Canterlot University with a confident familiarity. She only glanced back on occasion to ensure I was still with her, but for my part, I was trying to take it all in. The whole University was as big and grandiose as Canterlot itself, with long pillared hallways and tall stained glass windows that cast brightly colored shadows across the floor. A few younger ponies, most but not all of which were unicorns, walked through the halls at their own pace. We navigated through three halls before Dusky stopped at a large door labeled ‘Archival Stacks’. When she opened the door, an elderly unicorn, lifted her gaze from a nearby counter and tilted her head, eyes settling on me before she spoke up. “Ah, good, there you are. Right on time, Dusky.” She was a bright, vivid red pony, even in the dim lit of the archive room. Her mane had a soft pink hue to it, with a long forelock down over her eyes. She wore scholar’s robes that certainly told you her role here, but she had all the authority she needed without them. She set down an unreasonably large book she’d apparently been reading while waiting for us to arrive and grinned. Dusky mirrored her expression as she walked up to her friend. “Ruby, good to see you again. This is Night Flurry, my coltfriend. Night, this is my good friend, Ruby Result.” I blushed a little at being called Dusky’s coltfriend, but dipped my head out of respect to her. “Ruby Result, a, um, pleasure to meet you.” “Coltfriend, eh?” She walked past Dusky to look more closely, peering over her glasses. “Well, he’s cute enough. Did you know your marefriend once fought off six Timberwolves all by herself?” “Ruby, stop.” Dusky shook her head. “I didn’t ‘take on’ so much as ‘ran away from at top speed’.” “That’s not what the filly said.” Ruby turned to Dusky and half-whispered to her. “Now shush, I’m trying to help you.” “As if Terra wasn’t bad enough, you too, Ruby? Besides, Night’s not shallow like that.” Dusky laughed, glancing towards me with a sympathetic smile. “She was four, and it was just a search and rescue. She might have exaggerated a bit after the fact.” I glanced between the two, both of them were clearly in their element with this kind of banter. I smiled. “True or not, I already know that Dusky is pretty incredible… I don’t really need more evidence of that.” Narrowing her eyes, Ruby examined me carefully then chuckled. “Good. I like him, Dusky.” Dusky shook her head as she watched me grow red. “Weren’t you going to give us a tour?” “Of course I am.” She walked past me and motioned back into the hallway. “Well, coming?” We followed after, back into the long halls as she began her tour. It started out somewhat mundane, with a lot of typical school talk. I attended Cloudsdale University before I’d moved to Ponyville, and this was all more or less the same selling points. That all ended as we walked into one of the back halls. Ruby stopped at a massive painting that spanned across the wall. It was… odd. A great white room, with a table made of cloud, surrounded by six chairs. In each chair sat a pony with long fins, and fish tails in place of their back legs. A small plaque to the side of the painting read 'Seas of Knowledge'. I tilted my head slightly and stared. “This is perhaps the most controversial thing we have in the university—well, aside from from some students’ theses, anyway.” Ruby laughed at her own joke, then waved a hoof towards the bizarre painting. “Donated to us by Fine Arts Alumni Caspian Coolbrush, when this painting arrived, many of the staff didn’t even know what to make of it. Half saw it as just plain ridiculous and wanted to just store it away in the university warehouse. The rest of us saw its beauty, that it represented student ponies through the seaponies, pushing for the nigh-impossible as they swim through the clouds that are their dreams, even if it could sometimes be seen as a significant gamble. Such was an inspiration that should be visible to uplift all of our students. With the whole council deadlocked, we had to ask Princess Celestia to step in. The rest is history.” I tried to think of it that way, letting the whole thing wash over me. It was still very bizarre. “Wow, I, um, didn’t think of it that way.” Dusky giggled as she stood next to me. “Neither did I.” “Perhaps you two just take cloud walking too much for granted.” Ruby smirked, just a bit of playfulness in her voice. “Could be.” Dusky shook her head. “In any event, I think we might be ready to move on.” “Right this way then.” Ruby moved past the weird seapony mural and led us to a set of rooms filled with all sorts of beakers, vials, and all sorts of other equipment I didn’t recognize. “Speaking of Princess Celestia, her School For Gifted Unicorns may steal our thunder when it comes to magic, but we still have world-class labs. For those who aren’t suited to her school’s particular regimen, or a more specialized interest in alchemy, we have facilities that can easily match theirs.” I took in the room, then gave Dusky a side look, leaning over to whisper. “Bit of an, um, sticking point?” She grinned, glancing at our guide. “You know people and rivalries. Right, Ruby?” “It’s all in good fun,” Ruby smiled proudly. “We have a good working relationship with Celestia’s School. Can’t make a fine draught without a little pressure, right?” Leading us back down the main hall, Ruby brought us to a huge set of double doors. Pushing them open with her magic, Ruby dramatically introduced us to the grand library. We walked out onto an overlook, flanked by stairs that led down to the main level, and up to higher levels. Just the main floor we looked out over had more books in one place than I think I had ever seen in my life. Taking her place in the middle of the landing, Ruby turned and grinned. “And this is where I first met your marefriend. One of the biggest libraries in Equestria and I found her looking for a Daring Do book.” I gave Dusky a sidelong glance, barely suppressing a laugh. “Daring Do?” “What? It’s a good series. Besides, Trials was almost impossible to find when it first came out, I couldn’t find a copy anywhere.” Ruby laughed. “Come to glamorous Canterlot, and spend the week holed up in the hotel with a novel. With all the things you’ve seen and done, you’d think I could get you to read better books than Daring Do.” Next to me, Dusky stuck her tongue out at Ruby, and that was enough. I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. The whole picture of it was so adorable, and it took me back to our first date in Myrtail, when she’d told me about her first time in the ocean. That adorable mental image of a young filly Dusky splashing about, just curious to see how the world worked. Now, it was matched with the picture of her curled up with an oversized book, intently focused on the story . Dusky turned at my sudden outburst and giggled. “Look what you did. You broke him.” “Not my fault.” Ruby laughed. “It was just too easy.” I struggled to gather my wits, still chuckling as I caught my breath. “B-broke? Nah, just… Sorry, Dusky, but there’s that image of you again.” “Image?” She raised an eyebrow. “Just… you.” I leaned forward to kiss her snout. “Reading Daring Do when you could have been out exploring. You were cute. You still are.” She blushed a bit and smiled. “Well, it was really popular, so they only let me check it out for a week. I had to buckle down and read it while I could. Besides, I still managed to explore Canterlot quite thoroughly, thank you very much.” “She did. With a little bit of help.” Ruby gave me a wink. “And speaking of help, what’s next on your agenda? You’re so close to Canterlot most of the year, you don’t tend to put it on your trip itinerary.” Dusky smirked. “I thought it’d be good to start easy this year, for a few reasons. We’ll be staying in Canterlot another day or so, then flying out east to Lunar Lake.” Ruby closed her eyes, and mused to herself. “Lunar Lake… I’ll have to make another trip of my own, before my old bones collapse on me.” She drew back, then stepped forward to hug Dusky. Returning the hug, Dusky smirked. “Really? Seems to me you’ve still got plenty of spunk.” She stepped back and waved a hoof. “Bah. So you say. Come on, then—keep up.” She turned and walked forward through the library. I raised an eyebrow at Dusky, and she smirked in return before stepping to follow after her friend. I glanced around the library, almost as if I expected to see a young Dusky sitting amidst the stacks with a Daring Do book even now. I stepped forward to follow after, my smile never fading.